This newsletter is supported by Chorus One, an operator of validating nodes and staking services on Proof-of-Stake networks.
SOLANA MAINNET BETA & BINANCE
Solana launched their Mainnet Beta network in conjunction with a small token auction facilitated through CoinList. This is an evolution of what was the Soft Launch Period (SLP) network and is currently an “idling mainnet”.
Solana has taken a very incremental approach in launching their network. The SLP network started as a closed network of selected validators. It was then opened to a larger group. It’s this larger group that’s now supporting the Mainnet Beta network. You can check it out on the new Staking Facilities explorer Solana Beach.
Furthermore, Solana’s token SOL got listed on Binance and their research team posted a comprehensive overview of the project.
GAME OF ZONES
The Cosmos ecosystem is making great strides towards realizing the interchain vision. Details about “Game of Zones”, the successor of the mother of all incentivized testnets “Game of Stakes”, were recently announced. Registration for the 3-week long event that aims to stress test the interoperability protocol IBC will end Apr 25 and the competition will begin May 1. Find more information here.
COSMOS STAKING DATA
Felix took a look at network data and visualized how token and staking supply, reward and issuance rate, as well as other metrics like active accounts developed on the Cosmos Hub since launch more than a year ago. Find the post on the Chorus One blog.
ETHEREUM STAKING USER STUDY & ROADMAP
Aqeel Mohammad published the results of his comprehensive ETH 2.0 Staking and Validator UX study. A couple survey results stood out in contrast to the way validators view staking network operations in today’s major staking networks. For example, the majority of respondents said they’d stake using their personal computer. It was also interesting to see that the second most important consideration when choosing a staking/validator client was usability, edging out stability, as #2 behind security.
Ethereum appears close to phase 0 of the transition to Proof of Stake. A recent update by Prysmatic Labs mentions a multi-client testnet that will launch this month, with a mainnet rollout of the beacon chain to follow potentially this summer. Vitalik also shared his comprehensive take on a roadmap covering the different core protocol initiatives in the Ethereum ecosystem.
Other Network Updates
Ready Layer One
A cross-chain collaborative virtual conference on May 4–6 with participants from Cosmos, NEAR, Polkadot, Protocol Labs, and Tezos ecosystems.
Centrifuge
A soft-launch of the Substrate-based Centrifuge chain took place last week. We also had CEO Lukas Vogelsang on the Chorus One Podcast to explain Centrifuge’s vision of an open supply chain financing platform.
Tezos
A new upgrade ( Protocol 007) bringing meta transactions, programmable staking, and privacy features through Sapling circuit integration (used in Zcash) to Tezos is slated for summer 2020.
NEAR
NEAR continues to be the project with some of the best educational content. Make sure to check out the reverse whiteboard session in which Alex Skidanov is interviewed by Justin Drake from the Ethereum Foundation comparing the NEAR design to Eth2.0.
Celo
The Celo Foundation gave out $700k in grants to 13 startups, with plans to spend up to $15.7m on community funding in 2020.
Coda
Testnet 3.2 (“Bugspray”) will launch with 200 participants on April 20.
SMALLER VALIDATORS, BIGGER VOICE
Chris published this post explaining why he feels smaller validators are essential to decentralized staking ecosystems. He also encourages smaller validators to make their voices heard and suggests a few ways they can do that.
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Staking Economy is written by Felix Lutsch from Chorus One with assistance from Chris Remus, operator of the Chainflow validators. Join us in the Staking Economy Telegram to discuss staking. Opinions expressed are our own and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Chorus One. All content is for informational purposes only and not intended as investment advice.